Intensive use furniture is designed for use in demanding environments. Facilities housing individuals for rehabilitation from health or legal problems require furniture for safely furnishing living quarters while being durable.
Intensive use furniture was formerly made of steel or wood. In previous years, fiberglass construction was used to replace wood and metal. Fiberglass offered a more appealing aesthetic than steel or wood, and more resistant to damage by the user and damage by bodily fluids. Wood furniture, for example is known to have problems with bed bugs in these settings. Fluids can rot and damage wood furniture resulting in weakness and creating odors. Fiberglass however, had several limitations. Fiberglass cracked and splintered if a direct force was applied. Manufacturing fiberglass furniture was very slow and involved custom production.
Intensive use furniture for such facilities requires durability and ease of cleaning. Furthermore, it is desired that furniture used in such intensive use facilities prevent improper use of that furniture by the user such as concealing items within or underneath the furniture. Typically, an inmate in a correctional or psychiatric facility may try to conceal drugs, weapons or other contraband in the furniture. The structure of the furniture must avoid all of these problems.
In addition, intensive use furniture is usually fixed to the floor or walls. This fixture must be relatively simple, secure and preferably sealing the seams between the furniture and the adjoining surface. Preferably, the fixation method is provided with a means for preventing tampering by the user of the furniture. Securing the furniture to the floor or wall further reduces the safety concerns on both the prisoners or patients and staff resulting in a safer environment.
It is desirable to provide furniture for such facilities having durability, aesthetically pleasing characteristics and design for comfortable use. Therefore there is a need to provide an intensive use furniture product without using assembly fasteners and having more impact-resistance, less weight and with much greater load-bearing capacity than fiberglass, wood or metal construction furniture. The furniture must sealingly attach to a mounting surface such as a wall or floor.